


How She Looked in the Light

by ellemedit



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: M/M, The Damned Things - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-16 05:04:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11821797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellemedit/pseuds/ellemedit
Summary: *I can't write descriptions for the life of me so please just go with it*Andy is a personal trainer, with a six-year-old daughter named Anna. When he starts working with a new client named Patrick, he suddenly finds himself surrounded in a group of friends he never dreamed of having. The last thing on Andy's mind was becoming as close with someone as he was becoming close with Joe. When they opened up to each other, Andy found his life changing in the most positive ways since Anna was born. He didn't know he was falling in love, until the day he found out that Joe would be leaving. Leaving because of Andy.





	1. 1

How She Looked in the Light 

"I guess I never really knew what it was that I was looking for, because I was never looking in the first place. When I met him I thought the whole thing would go like everything else in my life has, away. But he didn't go away. He stayed, and I'll never know for the life of me why he did, but I'm so grateful he did." 

  
"Lunch?"  
"Packed!"  
"Backpack?"  
"It's right here, Dad."  
"Shoes?"  
"Uhm..."  
"Anna, where is your left shoe."  
"It's in my room, hang on." 

She opens the door of the van and dashes back inside. In a minute, she's locking the front door (wearing two shoes) and climbing back in the car, fastening her seat belt. Today is Anna's first day of school, real school she likes to call it. I homeschooled her for kindergarten, but she was adamant about attending real school. Anna is thrilled, but I'm nervous. She's always been different than most kids her age. She learned to talk before she was two and had a personality three times the size of someone three times her age. She was never shy or quiet, and always eager to make friends. This of course alienated all the other children at her daycare. She was never off-put by them calling her weird or annoying. Of course, this was after I gave the, "You are perfectly unique", speech. However, the speech was only needed once, and four years later she is the most confident person I know. I know she will be fine in school, it's just the other kids that I'm worried about. 

"Dad, what are you doing today?" she asks, like she really wants to know. That's another thing, she is constantly having a good time, but she always makes sure that I'm okay as well. She takes my well-being as well as I take hers. 

"Well, you know. I have work, then I'm picking you up. The usual thing," I say.  
"How is work, Dad?"  
I laugh a little, "It's great, pumpkin. I actually have a new client to meet today." 

I'm a personal trainer at the gym in town. It's not the most glamorous job, but I never got to go to college. Anna was born right around the time when I should've applied, and I needed to be able to support her. The money is good, and it's a very kid-friendly environment. They offer free childcare which is something I needed back then. I've been a single dad since Anna was three months old. I'm happy that it's just us two but it was difficult when she was still a baby. She's an incredibly independent six-year-old though. That was one of the reasons she wanted to go to public school so badly, she wanted space to do her own thing. I think she'll do well there, but I'm still worried for her. That's the only thing I really don't like about being a parent, is the constant feeling of worry. Even when you trust your kid like most parents don't, you can still get worked up over the smallest things.

I pull into the school parking lot and see kids filing out of buses and parents' cars and heading inside, by themselves. Anna sees them and freezes up a bit.  
"Dad, can you walk me inside," she asks. Her usual light tone has been replaced by her I-am-on-a-mission-and-must-survive tone.  
"Of course dear," I say, helping her out of the van. She holds on tightly to my hand, but lets her lunchbag sit loosely in her other hand. I hear the sound of the tin box hitting against her knees as we walk inside. We make our way to her classroom which is full of mothers either holding babies or expecting them. All of the kids have either sat down at the bright green tables or are looking at the various toys and books in the room. A woman about my height whose dark hair is held back by some mysterious force approaches us with the classic teacher smile and says hello. She introduces herself as Mrs. Dana and shows Anna where she can hang her bag and coat. While Anna walks away she shakes my hand and says, 

"You must be Mr. Hurley, pleasure to meet you."  
I shake her hand back and say, "And you too, but I really should be heading out. I have to get to work."  
Anna has returned and she's now hiding behind my legs. I've never seen her this shy before. I bend down and give her a high-five.  
"Hey," I say, looking her in the eye, "you've got this."  
Her worried face slowly lights up to a grin and she nods vigorously. She gives me a big hug, and Mrs. Dana shows her where to sit. I leave the classroom, and wave goodbye. Anna beams and waves with both hands. I sigh as I walk back down the hallway. 

I get to work and it looks like a typical Monday morning. It's a lot quieter now that all the middle and high schoolers aren't here to be annoying. The second I walk into the employee lounge where I keep my keys and wallet, Nadia is bounding out in front of my face. Nadia and I have been friends since I started working here. A former smoker and overall irritating person, she's really turned her life around in the past few years. I don't even know why we started hanging out in the first place. I was so quiet and everyone else here hated her so much she just gravitated towards me. Everyone says that she grew up because of me but seeing as I was her friend during her worst times, I know that she really tried to get herself in order. She's certainly something, that's for sure. Now that's she more mature and less all over the place, she's actually a great friend. She does a lot to help out with Anna, and she knows me better than anyone else in my life right now. She's a trainer too, but she's also a physical therapist for rehab centers. 

"Hey Andy, how's it going man?" she says, punching me in the arm. She ties her brown hair back while jumping up and down and never breaking eye contact with me. I'm honestly baffled by how much energy she has all the time.  
"Good, school starts today so that's exciting," I say. She continues bouncing.  
"Is Anna excited?"  
"Too excited. I know she's going to be fine I'm just worried about what the other kids will do."  
She laughs, "Trust me, I was part of the popular gang in first grade. They'll do nothing to her."  
"There are cliques in first grade?"  
She bounces out of the room and down the hall while saying, "Just relax, she'll be great!"  
I roll my eyes. She makes a great confidant when you need one. Attentive smalltalk, however, not so much. 

I grab my things and head into the gym. I go to the little closed off area for personal training and grab the clipboard to see who the new client is. Stumph, Patrick. Consultation at 1:00 p.m. I have one person before him, a lady who's in her late sixties. I always have fun with Ellen. The morning goes by pretty quickly, and I go to get my lunch. I'm halfway done with my bean salad when Nadia is plopping down next to me.  
"So guess what," she says, leaning into the table.  
"What?" I say, still chewing.  
"I have a date on Friday."  
I raise my eyebrows at her. She looks decently excited but sighs when she sees my reaction.  
"Come on Andy, he's great."  
"I'm sure he is, I just thought you weren't going to start dating till next year, like you promised your mom."  
She rolls her eyes, "Look, I figured I'd have to date someone eventually, and I don't want to go out with someone who my mom picked. You know after what happened she's going to want me going out with a commitment minded man who'll want to marry me a year into the relationship." 

Nadia was engaged for seven months last year, to a total douchebag and after she finally broke it off, she decided that she was never going to get into a serious relationship again. Her mother, however had different ideas. She did agree that Caleb was an ass and that Nadia had good reasons to become a misogamist. She also knows how great Nadia is, and that she shouldn't stay single just because of one bad experience. So they made a deal, 2010 would be the year she started dating again. 

"No! I think it's great that you found someone. Tell me about him."  
Nadia goes on about this guy, J-something, and I finish my lunch. This is how the majority of our conversations go. She talks, I listen. I respond, she changes subjects. Repeat. This arrangement works well for us.  
"I'm really excited to see him," she finishes. She glances at the clock on the wall,  
"Hey don't you have a consultation in like, now?"  
"Shit, I gotta go," I say, jumping up. Nadia laughs as I walk quickly back to the gym. 

I see a short man who looks like he's in his early twenties sitting on the bench by the training area fiddling with a water bottle in his hands. I wave hello and he smiles back.  
"Hi, you must be Patrick," I say, shaking his hand as he stands up.  
"Yeah, nice to meet you. Andy, right?" he says. He looks a little nervous and he keeps running his fingers through his hair.  
"Yup, you ready to get started?"  
We head to the training room and I start the routine consultation questions. He's 24, pre-diabetic, and he's really motivated to get started.  
"I was in a really bad relationship, and I just kind of let myself go," he says. I nod, "I completely understand. Well, I really think that with your diet and our plan you can lose the 60 pounds in ten to twelve weeks."  
Patrick smiles, "That's great news, I really just want to be healthy again."  
I go over the weekly plans and give him a tour of the gym and show him how to use the equipment. We're talking throughout this, and Patrick is actually a really cool guy. He's kind of like a little kid, shy when you first start talking to him but once he becomes comfortable he loves talking.  
"Okay, so I'll see you next week for our first session," I say, walking Patrick to the door.  
"Sounds great man, see you next week!" he says, waving as he leaves. What a cool dude.  
The rest of my afternoon consists of cleaning equipment and doing lots of paperwork, pretty boring stuff. Soon enough I'm hopping in the van to go pick up Anna. 

*** 

The first thing I hear when I enter Anna's classroom is the sound of children sniffling and adults talking in low voices. Mrs. Dana notices me and says with a heavy sigh, "Mr. Hurley, do you have a minute?" Uh oh.  
Anna sees me and immediately dashes over. I can tell she's been crying. I hug her tightly while I raise my eyebrow at her teacher.  
"There was a minor incident during the day," she says, looking at the other parent who tightens the grip on the other kid's shoulder, "but we've talked it through and we're sure it's just because of all the excitement during the first day. Bailey's apologized to Anna already, and it won't happen again."  
Of course. I stand up and look at Bailey, a little boy with yellow blonde hair with snot running down his nose. Whatever happened I'm sure it was Bailey's mother who apologized, not him.  
"Well, what happened?" I ask.  
"She was acting like a freak, so I pushed her," Bailey says, sniffing loudly and wiping his face on his shirt. He turns to Anna, "I still think you're a freak."  
"Bailey!" his mother shouts, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and shaking him, making him whine loudly.  
Mrs. Dana looks at the ceiling to compose herself and I'm trying not to let my exasperation show on my face. Anna clearly looks more annoyed than upset at this point. Mrs. Dana looks at Bailey, "We treat everyone in my classroom with respect, understand?" He shuffles his feet till his mother shoves him again and he grumbles, "Yes ma'am."  
She straightens up, "Good! So we're done here. Thank you Anna, for being so well-behaved. I'll see you both tomorrow." she walks over to her desk and begins adjusting papers. I take this as my cue to head out. 

After polite introductions and apologies between me and Bailey's mother, Anna grabs her lunchbox and we head back to the van. What a day.  
The second Anna buckles her seatbelt she's talking a mile a minute about how wonderful the day was, except for Bailey. "But I want to forget all about it, Dad, because the overall awesomeness of it makes it so good. We sang the Star Spangled Banner but I didn't know the words that well so I sang the lyrics to Master of Puppets really quietly so no one would know, but I think the teacher heard me so I might've broken Meeting Other People Rule Number Four," (don't let other adults know that I let my six-year-old listen to Metallica), "but she was smiling so I guess it's okay. Besides Bailey not being very nice all the other kids were super sweet. These two girls, Brooke and Sarah invited me to play hopscotch with them at lunch, and Sarah let me use one of her glitter markers to write my name on my nametag for our desks."  
She goes on and on about the sandbox filled with ladybugs and the class guinea pigs till I'm pulling into the driveway. 

Anna heads outside to play while I change and start dinner. Our townhouse might be small but it works for us. I can see Anna playing in the backyard through the kitchen window and her bedroom is just close enough to mine so that if she screams in the night I can get to her quickly, but still far away enough that we both have privacy. After I put on clean shorts and a t-shirt I head into the kitchen. Tonight I want to try a new recipe for vegan pizza. Most vegan pizzas are shit, but I have high hopes for this one.  
Outside I can see Anna lying stomach-down on the tire swing yelling in gibberish that I'm pretty sure is her made up language. She tried to explain it to me once. You take the first two letters of a word off, and put them at the end of the word. For example: Dad, your hair looks weird is, Dda, uryo irha okslo irdwe.  
I do love my Anna.  
She gives the yelling a break and starts assembling fallen leaves into one massive pile. Or at least I thought it was a pile. Nope. According to her commands shouted at her imaginary friends, this is a wall protecting the fortress from the Madowmen, is what she calls them. Shadow monsters from the Third Realm who come to abduct children to suck out their souls and turn them into various beasts. Combine a dementor from Harry Potter and the lead from Anna's recurring nightmares and you've got yourself a Madowman.  
I do love my Anna.  
Just as I'm sliding the pizza into the oven to bake Anna comes barreling in through the sliding glass doors, her pants covered in grass stains and her cheeks red from running in the cold. Her eyes are beaming with what I can only describe as immaculate joy. The tragedies of the day seemed to have been erased from her memory.  
My Anna.  
She hops over to the bookshelf and gets out our beat-up copy of The Mouse and the Motorcycle as she asks me what's for dinner. I tell her about the new recipe and she looks at me with true hope and trust and says,  
"Dad, I have faith in you, but just in case, can I have some raisins before dinner?"  
I hand her the box of raisins and she takes them with great sympathy. She plops down in the old armchair and happily devours both the raisins and the story. I can't wait till she's old enough for Anne of Green Gables. Of course, by the time she'll be reading it, I doubt she'll remember that she was as exuberant as Anne in the first book. If we're both lucky she'll always be that way. I can't imagine a world without a happy, joyful Anna. 

I set the table as Anna goes to wash her hands. I take out the pizza, which already doesn't look half as bad as the pizzas before it. I have hope in this one.  
We sit down at our little round wooden table and Anna bravely takes a large bite. I wait for her to chew and swallow, and she looks at me as she finishes.  
"I think you did it, Dad," she says, like a mad scientist who's found the right mix of chemicals to sucessfully destroy the planet. I follow her lead and look her straight in the eye as I take my first bite, which makes her giggle.  
"I think we did," I say, matching her tone. She giggles again, around her second bite of pizza.  
Anna and I loudly sing random songs as we do the dishes, and she leaps and twirls around the kitchen as she puts plates away. I never understand parents who think all the fun in their life will end when they have children. Also, let me just say, singing various songs from My Little Pony like James Hetfield is a lot more fun than going out and getting wasted every night. 

After we've cleaned up we watch tv for a little bit. I let Anna play cartoons while I catch up on our schedule for the week a little bit. Nothing out of the ordinary. At eight o clock I take Anna upstairs to get her ready for bed. By nine, pajamas are on, teeth are brushed, clothes are laid out for tomorrow, and she's in bed with her stuffed animals ready to say goodnight.  
"Did you have a good first day of school?" I say, smoothing out her blankets. She nods and yawns, "It was amazing, Dad. I can't wait for tomorrow."  
I smile, "I'm glad, sweetie."  
She gives me a sleepy smile, "Night Dad. I love you."  
"I love you too, darling."  
She snuggles down into her bed, and I turn off the light. I close the door behind me and head back downstairs.  
I don't stay up for too much longer. I'm tired myself. Around ten thirty I go back upstairs and get into bed. It's been a long day. And we still have the rest of the week to go.


	2. 2

"DAD!"   
Anna sees me and immediately bolts into my arms. I scoop her up and swing her around while she screams happily. I place her down while she starts talking (and bouncing) a mile a minute. 

It's the second week of school, and everything so far has been going smoothly. No new problems with any kids, work has been fairly typical, and Anna is even making friends. However, since I'm working with Patrick after school hours, I needed someplace to put Anna. The gym has a thousand different clubs and programs for this, and I figured what Anna needed is somewhere to burn off some energy. 

"I'm so excited for dance class, Dad! Sarah from my class, the one with the glitter markers, she's in it too! She has one parent just like me, too! Well, kind of. She has a mom who works and she sees her dad on the weekends, but we're kind of the same, still!" Anna says, twirling around my legs. I smile down at her,   
"That's wonderful, love. I'm so happy for you." 

She tells me about the school day while I prep everything for my first real session with Patrick. Anna's been telling me lots about Sarah. I think I might know her mother, Elizabeth. There's a chance we were in high school together for one year, since she's a few years older than me. 

"Anna, my client will be here in about five minutes, and your dance class is about to start," I say, kneeling down to her height, "now, the dance room is right across the hallway from where I'll be. If something happens you know where to find me, right?"   
She nods, "Yup! And, I know already: I'll be good, I'll listen and follow instructions. I'll be nice to everyone and I'm gonna have a good time."   
I laugh a little, she knows when I'm going to rant. I give her a hug and she prances across the hall to the little classroom.   
"Hey Andy, sorry if I'm early." 

Patrick's here, and he looks like most people look their first day of training. Equally excited and nervous.   
"Hey man, and nope. You're right on time. Ready to get started?"   
As we warm up I go over everything we'll be doing for the next few weeks, then what we'll be doing today. He takes it very seriously, listening intently and it looks like he's taking mental notes on all the technical stuff I mention. We finish warming up, and I can hear music playing from Anna's classroom. I try not glance at the door when I say,   
"Ready to start?"   
***   
"Wow! That was intense," Patrick says. He's panting and lying face down on the floor.   
"You did really well. Almost nobody can do a plank for a full minute in the beginning. I would've stopped you at thirty seconds like I do for everyone's first time but you looked so determined," I say, laughing at the end. He musters as much of a laugh as he possibly can and stands up with a grimace. He exhales and smiles.   
"Dude, that was awesome though. I don't know if this is just the beginning motivation or whatever, but seriously. That was cool."   
Patrick starts to gather his things up just as Anna comes out of dance class, sweaty and happy. She walks over normally, instead of her usual stampede and gives me a hug. I can't believe it, she's tired. For the first time in her entire existence, she's actually tired.   
With her arms still wrapped around me, she quietly whispers, "Thanks." She notices Patrick, and stares at him til he sees her. She beams at him and after a second I remember to say,   
"Oh yeah, this is my daughter, Anna." She waves at him.   
"Nice to meet you Anna," he says. She smiles again and goes to get her backpack and lunchbag.   
We start driving home. 

"How was dance class, Anna?" I ask. I wait for her to burst into a long rant about how wonderful it all was, but instead she smiles and takes a deep breath before answering,   
"I had a great time, Dad. I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow. It's really hard though, and I'm tired. Can we listen to some music till we get home?"   
I look at her curiously before turning on the radio. She closes her eyes and smiles. Dear god, my daughter is tired. She is actually just tired. She's perfectly happy, just tired. I turn up the music and we drive home without saying another word. 

My luck didn't last, though. After dinner she went right back to normal, although she did just sit and read rather than go outside. It's a little before eight now, and we're both relaxing in the living room. Suddenly, Anna puts her book down and looks at me,   
"Dad?"   
"Yeah hon?"   
"Can we go for a walk?"   
It's still early enough in September that the sun sets around this time.   
"Just around the block, really quick. Then it's time for bed, okay?" 

We follow the sidewalk that goes along the perimeter of our townhouse development. Lots of college kids and retired people live here, but there's still a little mini playground. Anna never uses it. Swingsets scare her. Instead, she leads us over to a little bench surveying the unused equipment and sits down with a little sigh. I follow suit and I sit silently, waiting for her to say something. 

Anna looks at her shoes, swinging her feet, "Sarah says her dad left because of her. Did my mom leave because of me?" she says after some time.   
I think carefully of what to say.   
"Anna, make sure you remember what I say. Remember it for the rest of your life, and if you ever forget it, just tell me to tell it to you again."   
She looks me dead in the eye, waiting.   
"Your mother left because of me. You had nothing to do with it. She loved you very much, but she didn't love me."   
Anna didn't say anything. Finally she looked back at her shoes and asks,   
"What makes you love someone?"   
"That's a good question. If you ever find out the answer, you should tell me," I say. Her face slowly turns into a grin and she stands up. She slips her hand into mine, and we don't say anything else as we walk back to the house. 

My Anna.


	3. 3

"Dude, seriously? I play drums too!" Patrick says.  
"That's so cool! Are you in a band?" I ask. Patrick shrugs,  
"Eh, I was. It kinda fell apart before it ever even started. They wanted me to sing, I was more focused on songwriting, then before you know it college started and it never really worked out."  
"I get that, man. There was this one band, god I must've been your age when I met those guys, that wanted me to play for their record. I almost said yes, but then I had my kid and it went on pause. They lost their label and I never heard from them again."  
"That sucks, but we all make sacrifices I guess."  
"Wait till you have kids, man. That'll be all you do then."  
"I can imagine." 

Patrick and I are becoming friends, believe it or not. He's a super cool guy, really laidback and friendly. He's doing a great job in the program too. We're only about three weeks into it, but already he's showing massive improvement. I'm convinced he's grown a little bit too, which is ridiculous considering he's 24 but growing an inch or two isn't unheard of in situations like this. Anyway, I have a lot of fun working with him. He seems to enjoy me too, in fact, yesterday he said we should go grab a beer Friday night. After explaining that I don't drink and he really shouldn't be either according to the diet his doctor forwarded to me he laughed and said he just meant we should hang out sometime, and just get to know one another. And here we are now, drinking iced teas at the Chili's bar on a Friday night talking about music and careers. I haven't had a night out in three years, and guessing from what I know about Patrick, this is probably one of the first nights out that he's enjoyed in three years. 

"So where did you end up working after college?"  
"Oh, you know. Temp jobs while I decided what I wanted to do. I'm a science teacher at the middle school now, which is actually a lot of fun. I still do music some, I learned guitar during college and now I'm trying to learn how to read music and not just tab."  
"That's so neat man. So do you think you'll stay a teacher forever?"  
Patrick shrugs, "Why not. Might switch schools if it seems better at one place rather than another, but I like kids and I like my subject. I kinda wish I could be a music teacher rather than a science teacher, but not enough to go back to school. What about you? Do you like where you are?" 

Now it's my time to shrug and regret my life decisions. I wouldn't have asked that question if I remembered how much I hate answering it. Oh well. 

"Fitness always seemed to be that one major hobby that I had that wasn't supposed to turn into anything. Then it did, simply because I was good at it and I needed the money. Honestly, music is definitely what I wanted to do when I was growing up. It just never worked out for me."  
Patrick nods, "I get that, man. We should totally jam sometime, I'll bring guitar and you can drum."  
"Definitely. We should do like a drum battle, too."  
"Battle?"  
"Duet is such a dumb word. Battle is cool."  
"Ha, I agree, actually. A drum battle it is."  
"You know, those guys who were going to start a band with me, I'm actually still friends with them, surprisingly," Patrick says, "they're pretty good musicians themselves, would it be cool if they jammed with us?"  
"Yeah man," I say, "if you guys jam all the time why aren't you in an official band?"  
Patrick sighs, "Well, you know. We all have full time jobs. Pete, who plays bass, he actually has a kid too."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, I was going to mention this to you. He's a stay-at-home dad for his ten month old son, Bronx."  
"That's a unique name," I can't help but comment.  
Patrick makes a noise that's halfway between a laugh and an exasperated sigh, "Well, Pete's a unique guy. We're all relieved he had a baby, it's caused him to be a little less, we're calling it, unique."  
I laugh, "We all have that one friend I guess."  
Now Patrick laughs, "You would think, but I guarantee you that you haven't met anyone like Pete before."  
"Well I'd love to jam with you two, it sounds like a lot of fun," I say.  
"Oh yeah, then there's Joe, too. He plays guitar, a lot better than me. He sings, too. He's a funny guy, I think you'd get along."  
"It sounds like a great time. Let me know when you guys want to get together. I just need to get a sitter and I should be good to go."  
Patrick smiles, "Yeah man, of course."  
I stand up, "It's late, I should probably get going."  
Patrick finishes the rest of his drink and nods, "Yeah, me too. I'll see you Monday. We'll be in touch about jamming!"  
"See you Monday." 

*** 

It's about eleven when I get back, and I see Nadia (who so kindly babysat for me tonight instead of going on another date with Javier, finally remembered his name, who is turning out to be a great guy) zoning out at the tv which is playing the credit roll of Mulan. She smiles at me as I walk in.

"Successful night?" I ask, examining the coffee table which is littered with ice cream sandwich wrappers and board games.  
"Ha, yup. Anna's been asleep for a few hours now, don't worry," she says, yawning. I sit down next to her,  
"Thanks so much for watching her, means a lot."  
"Don't mention it. It's been awhile since I got to catch up with her. How was meeting Patrick?"  
"It was fun. He's a cool guy. He plays drums too, and his other friends all play instruments as well. We're gonna get together sometime and jam."  
"Dude that's awesome. Let me know when that is, I'd love to watch Anna again."  
"Really? That's so nice of you. Thanks Nadia."  
"No problem man. Any time." 

Nadia stands up, stretching, "Well, I should probably head out. See you on Monday, Andy."  
She grabs her purse and keys and waves as she closes the door. 

I tidy up the living room a little bit before going upstairs to check on Anna and go to bed.  
Anna is sound asleep surrounded by at least three new stuffed animals, clearly thanks to Nadia. All is well.  
I get ready for bed and as I'm falling asleep I wonder what Pete and Joe are going to be like. Also, I can't help but think they sound familiar.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so short. I have a whole bunch of chapters already written, but I'm not posting them until I've written the next one. This is 4, and I just completed 11.

4\.   
"Guess what?" Anna says, tugging at my sleeve as I'm filing papers. Anna's dance teacher is currently on maternity leave so all the students are on a week long break until they find a substitute. 

"What?"

"Sarah's birthday is this weekend and she's have a sleepover party at her house and all the girls from her class are invited, including me!" 

I look down at Anna, who's clearly waiting for me to say that she can go. I know that I should let her, but there's still a part of me that doesn't want her to. I haven't gotten a chance to meet Sarah's mother yet, but apparently I do know her. Turns out, she was the senior who got pregnant during the summer, and her parents sort of forced her to get engaged to the father. It didn't last, and I remember hearing gossip in high school about how bad their relationship was. Elizabeth is doing fine now. According to Anna, she and her daughter live in the nice newer part of the neighborhood, and she's the CEO of some business here in town. 

"When's the party?" I ask her. 

"Saturday September 26th from 3 pm to 11 am on the 27th," she says matter-of-factly. It's almost like she's memorized this information. She hands me the handmade invitation. As I'm reading it she says in the saddest voice possible, 

"Can I please go?" 

It looks like she's about to cry. I swallow all parental fear instincts and say yes. She smiles peacefully and gives me a hug. 

"Thank you," she whispers. I smile. 

I send her out to play on the gym's playground while I work with Patrick.   
Patrick shows up about five minutes late.   
"Sorry, there was traffic and I was on the phone with Pete," he says when he gets in, "do you think you'd be able to come over to my place on Saturday to meet the guys?" 

Saturday. Sarah's birthday party. 

"What time on Saturday?" 

"Around three-ish, if that works for you." 

"I have to drop Anna off at a friend's house, but other than that I should be free." 

Patrick smiles, "Great, I'll let Joe and Pete know. They're excited to meet you as well. It should be a good time." 

Patrick and I have got a solid routine for his workout now. I'm impressed at how far he's coming along. He's about halfway through the program, but I'm pretty sure he's considering getting a membership here. I hope he does. I'm hoping that playing music with him and his friends becomes a regular thing, but it would still be great to see him around here. 

After the hour is up and Patrick leaves, I call Anna inside. 

"Hey, how about we stop at the toy store on the way home to pick up a gift for Sarah?" I say, as Anna slips on her backpack. 

"OOH, YEAH!" Anna yells. She gives me a sheepish smile before she says, much more quietly, "She said that she really likes horses." 

"Horses it is," I say, holding her hand as we walk out to the parking lot.


	5. 4

Saturday comes in no time at all. Anna barely got any sleep on Friday night from sheer excitement, and Sarah's birthday party is apparently all anyone can talk about at school. Anna comes downstairs already dressed with her long hair brushed neatly back. Sarah's present, a set of three plastic horses, is neatly wrapped with a birthday card made by Anna tucked in the ribbon and waiting by the front door. 

"Anna, we don't have to leave for another six hours," I say. Anna groans and flops down on the couch, "I know, Dad." 

I make her some toast and slice up a grapefruit for her to eat. I'm almost as nervous as she is. 

Finally it's time for us to get in the car. Patrick doesn't live too far from here, he has an apartment a few blocks away from the gym. Anna grabs her dufflebag with her overnight gear and the present and we head down to the Creste's house. 

When we arrive, cars are parked along the curb, and various small children are running around the front lawn. The front door is propped open, and I can hear a dog barking from the inside. I can see through the fence along the house that they've rented a bouncy castle, and it sounds like music is playing in the backyard as well. What a party. Anna hops out impatiently, and I walk her up to the house. 

We head through the open door, navigating our way through mothers holding infants and what turns out to be five large dogs roaming freely through the entryway, when I hear a girl shrieking. Anna starts shrieking too and runs over to the voice. The blur of tutu and hair that must be Sarah is strangling Anna in a hug. She immediately grabs Anna's dufflebag and the present and drags Anna along to the designated tables for these things. 

"Hi, you must be Anna's father, I'm Elizabeth. Nice to meet you!" 

Elizabeth looks almost exactly like she did in high school, just a lot happier. She's tall, and her blonde ringlets are placed messily on top of her head, contradicting the crispness of her pantsuit. She smiles at me brightly and shakes my hand. I don't remember her being this tall. 

"Sarah's so happy Anna could come. They've really become close friends," she says. I can see the girls talking excitedly behind her. I imitate her smile the best I can, 

"I'm glad. Thanks for inviting her. I've got to go, but I'll be here at eleven tomorrow to pick Anna up," I say. Elizabeth nods. 

"Anna!" she calls behind her, "your dad is leaving!" 

Anna dashes over to me and Sarah follows. Anna hugs me tightly, 

"Bye Dad. I'll see you tomorrow!" 

"Have fun sweetie, and remember, be on your best behavior while you're here, okay?" 

Anna gives me a big smile while she nods vigorously. 

"Cmon Anna, let's go in the bouncy castle," Sarah says urgently, tugging Anna away. Elizabeth heads outside to monitor the chaos, and I head back to the car. 

I pull into Patrick's driveway a little bit after three and I notice two other cars there besides Patrick's blue Civic. I'm a bit late, but when Patrick opens the door it's clear that we're in no rush to start. The guy I'm assuming is Pete is lying shirtless on the couch sipping at a beer and I can hear popcorn in a microwave. 

"Hey man it's good to see you," Patrick says slapping my shoulder as we walk into the living room. Pete looks up from the tv and nods my way, 

"You're Andy, right? Nice to meet you," he says. 

Patrick certainly was right, I've never met someone like Pete before. He's got black hair cut in sharp bangs, and I'm almost convinced he's wearing eyeliner, and, oh my god, are those ugg boots? This is the married guy with a kid? 

Patrick emerges from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn, "Don't worry, it's organic," he says, "want some?" 

"I'm good," I say, wondering why I've started to befriend these people. 

"Yo Patrick you're out of toilet paper," I hear a voice almost shout from behind me. I turn around and see a guy about Patrick's age with long brown curls creating a giant afro that touch his shoulders. He's wearing a tank top and I can see his crazy tattoo sleeves. He's chewing gum and his fly is undone. Lovely first impressions, but at the same time I'm getting this weird vibe that he's a cool dude. Pete too, although that vibe is not as prominent. 

"Andy, this Joe," Patrick says, standing between us. He turns to Joe, "Joe, you lived here for like three years you know where the toilet paper is, and this is Andy." 

"Patrick told us you'd be coming today, I was worried that you'd be some big burly muscle guy, being a trainer and all. But good, you're short enough that I'm tall but you're taller than Pete which always makes me happy," Joe says with a grin. Pete says something along the lines of 'shut the fuck up Joe' around a mouth of popcorn, which only makes Joe smile bigger. I've officially decided that I like these guys. 

"So," Patrick says, plugging in his guitar, "you guys ready to start?" 

***   
I never went to college, mainly because I got lazy at the end of high school and then my daughter happened, so whenever I hear guys talk about all the dumb shit they did in college and how much fun it was, I can't relate. It's not the dumb shit I wish I had done, no, I consider myself lucky that I skipped those memories, it's the friendships I wish I had had. And now, my daughter is at her first sleepover and I just jammed with three awesome dudes. However, when we called it good, we weren't calling it done. Pete is currently getting wasted while Patrick sings Marvin Gaye at the top of his lungs and I'm just talking to Joe nonstop. 

He's 25, and he works at a tattoo parlor downtown. He has a bulldog named Lewis and we like pretty much all the same bands. He never went to college either, instead he let Pete drag him around with his screamo band for a few years until it fell apart and they both calmed down a little bit. He finds out that I have a six-year-old and he gets so excited. He thinks that six is a superior age, where you're still young enough to have all the fun of being a little kid but believe it or not, old enough to have fun around older people. I tell him that that's exactly what Anna is like and he nods. He says that cool people have even cooler kids. I smile. I like Joe. 

I head home once it starts to get dark. I don't remember the last time I had that much fun. I'm also looking forward to sleeping in late tomorrow. Kids always seem to get up at seven, no matter what. 

However, the next morning when I'm eating breakfast and watching tv, my phone starts ringing and I see it's from Elizabeth. Uh oh. I pick it up, expecting the background to be filled with screaming children, but it's weirdly quiet. 

"Hey Andy," she says, in the most exhausted tone, "we've had a little incident over here, and Anna wants to know if you can pick her up early." 

Of course.


End file.
